Transcript The Akkadians and the Babylonians

The Akkadians and the
Babylonians
Objectives
• Describe how the Akkadian and
Babylonian civilizations became
powerful in Mesopotamia.
• Analyze why Hammurabi was an
outstanding king.
Words to Know
System- A way of doing something; a plan for doing
something.
Translate- To change the words of one language into
those of another.
Code- A group of laws.
Merchant- One who buys and sells; one who trades.
Reign- To rule; the period of time a king or king rules.
Sargon I
Years after the Sumerians built their
city-states in Mesopotamia, Sargon I
united them. He ruled a kingdom north
of the Sumerians called Akkad. Because
his Akkadian army used bronze
weapons, they were stronger than other
armies.
The Akkadian Empire
In time, Sargon’s kingdom spread from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea
eastward. It covered all of the Tigris and Euphrates River Valleys to the Persian
Gulf. For the first time in history, one person ruled all this land. He ruled for
about 35 years, from around 2340 B.C. to 2305 B.C.
Sargon borrowed many ideas from the Sumerians. The
most important was their system, or way, of writing. The
Akkadians had their own language, but they used the
Sumerian cuneiform to make written records.
Scribes translated many
Sumerian writings. In this way,
the Akkadians discovered many
of Sumer’s ideas about religion
and government.
Sargon I was a strong leader. He repaired dikes and made the
irrigations systems longer. His army protected important trade
routes. However, soon after he died in 2305 B.C., Akkad collapsed and
lost its power.
The Babylonians
Around 1800 B.C., a new city-state called Babylon arose. People
feared its powerful army. Hammurabi, the king of Babylon, fought both
the Akkadians and the Summerians and won. His kingdom stretched
from the Persian Gulf northward through Mesopotamia.
Hammurabi
Hammurabi built a giant ziggurat to honor the
god Marduk. He also built a wall around
Babylon to protect it. The was was 11 miles
long and nearly 80 feet wide. He improved
roads and helped develop trade. Merchants
from as far away as India and China came to
Babylon to do business.
Hammurabi’s Reign
Hammurabi reigned for almost 40 years.
He was proud of all he had done during that
time. Near the end of his reign, he ordered
a scribe to carve his record on a large block
of stone. In this way everyone knew his
laws. The scribe carved nearly 300 laws on
the stone! Archaeologists found it buried in
the sands of Iran in 1902.
We call Hammurabi’s reign the Golden
Age of Babylon. After his death in
1750 B.C., the Babylonians lost their
power. Then Mesopotamia was again
divided into small city-states.